


Just How Single

by boatyard_of_fics



Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Boys Just Need to Talk, Everyone else minor characters, M/M, Miscommunication, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-15 21:34:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12329307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boatyard_of_fics/pseuds/boatyard_of_fics
Summary: James usually doesn’t know why they are fighting. He thought it was a joke but Aleks seems to have taken it seriously.





	Just How Single

James watched Aleks from the corner of his eye while he tried to type away on his keyboard. The other man had always been a distraction to him. Aleks was slowly packing up for the day while James still had a few emails to send out before he could start his personal work week at home. It had been like this for a week now, Aleks was always packing up and leaving as quickly and quietly as possible before James could even say goodbye. The one time James tried to stop the sort-of-blonde all he got in return was a frosty glare for his troubles.

Still Aleks was good at retaining his anger so for all James knew this one-sided fight could be about anything. He just couldn’t figure out what started it and Aleks wouldn’t sit still long enough around him so James could get a concrete answer out of him. 

Not that he saw much of his boyfriend anyway. Between James’s only half a week work schedule and Aleks’ new constant need to be at the office while Brett was traveling it was hard to find time for them. It didn’t help that they lived two completely different lifestyles outside of work. Usually it worked for them. They saw each other so often at work every day that they needed their own downtime. Their relationship was more about the little moments and the days without any interruptions. The days where nothing mattered: not their channel, not their past, not even their friends. 

Still, if Aleks could be professional where their fight hadn’t affected videos then so could James. It seemed as though the second they stopped filming Aleks locked himself away. Either hiding in Brett’s office or plugging into his computer until it was time to leave. When the next day came it would start all over again. It broke his heart that Aleks wouldn’t talk to him.

James looked around quickly. The only other people there were Jakob and Trevor. Both of them deep into their edits, so they wouldn’t notice if he tried to talk to Aleks. All he’d have to do is keep his distance, while hard to do, James could manage it. He was used to not getting close to the other man when they were around people. It was one of the rules James insisted on when they started dating.   
“Aleks, wait up man.” James said and grabbed Aleks by the elbow. He smiled when Aleks turned to face him. The blank look on his pale face was way better than the glare he gotten all week.

“What?” Aleks’s voice was low and tired. 

“I was wondering if you wanted to either hang or something. You know talk about some plans for the channel. I have this idea I wanted to run by you.” It was almost as if with every word James said the further his foot entered his mouth because Aleks just turned grumpier with each one. 

“Look, man, I just want to go home. I have a busy day tomorrow. Brett’s still gone until Monday and Suptic wants to try to figure out something for a video.” Aleks replied and it almost felt like an excuse, but James didn’t call him out on it. “And the stuff for Brett’s office should be showing up either tomorrow or Friday.”

“Man, come on.” James all but whined at him, a pout James would deny on his face. 

“Dude, I told you I’m busy. Maybe we can set something up for this weekend or next week?” Even after turning James down there was a hopeful look in Aleks’s eyes. It was small, but there.

“Yeah, man, I’ll see you then.” James offered and released his elbow. He hadn’t even noticed he was still holding on to it or how gentle the hold had become. Aleks’s smile dimmed and something James couldn’t quite catch crossed his face. It felt like that wasn’t the right answer. Aleks mumbled something James couldn’t hear before he threw his backpack over his shoulder and stomped out of the room through Brett’s door.

“Dude, what did you do to fuck up that badly?” Trevor asked and James turned to glare at him. Anything to take his eyes off the sight of his boyfriend leaving. Trevor only had one headphone on and a stupidly curious look on his face. 

“Shut the fuck up and get back to work, Trevor.”

~

James was a tad bit late to work the next week. It had been a long weekend without any contact from Aleks. Outside the few short texts to let James know he had been with Brett at some party because his plane landed earlier than expected. Usually James would have rolled his eyes and smiled at his boyfriend’s antics and ideas of fun, and make fun of him for them later. But now he couldn’t help but feel a little bitter. He stayed up that night worrying about how to approach Aleks and make amends. Or at least find out the problem. 

“I’m thinking of bleaching my hair again.” Aleks said as James passed by. James raised an eyebrow at him before he took a seat at his desk. He didn’t put his headphones on so he could listen in to the conversation he walked in on. 

“Why?” Anna asked and Aleks shrugged back at her. James liked the blonde look on Aleks. It actually seemed to reflect his happier mood since their move to LA. He let it grow back out recently and while it still looked good, James wondered if it reflected his recent mood. 

“I’m thinking of getting back on Tinder. You know since I’m single, right?” James could almost feel the weighted look Aleks sent him and James sent an alarmed one back at him. But Aleks turned his head away to look at Anna before James could catch his eye. 

What the fuck? James thought. Even though they kept their relationship a secret from everybody they never hinted at any sort of commitment or lack thereof with anyone else. They just didn’t talk about it. They preferred to either lead the conversation to other topics or pushed it onto their coworkers avoiding relationship talks all together. 

“I was starting to wonder about that. You took a break for a while.” Joe piped up from his desk and James glared at the back of his head. 

“Yeah, I did.” It sounded almost like a sigh but honestly James couldn’t hear the intent behind it. He was close to standing up so he could stop the conversation. Instead he tried to think of a plan when it continued. 

“Weren’t you seeing someone recently?” Brett asked and everybody turned to look at him. James hadn’t even noticed him; Brett had a way of sneaking around the office. James thought he was meant to take a few days off. No wonder Aleks had been in a hurry to finish the last minute work to the office. 

“Wait, you were seeing someone and didn’t say anything about it?” Anna asked. Aleks remained silent while James stared at him. Aleks looked down at his lap a deep frown on his face while he tried to think of the right vague answer. 

“Not really, it wasn’t really going anywhere. It felt like being fuck buddies and I guess I got tired of it.” There it was. James flinched hard, like he had been slapped. 

James stared hard at Aleks. Every part of his body wanted Aleks to look back at him but the blond wouldn’t look at anybody. Just his knees. One part of him wanted to run out of the building, the other wanted to grab Aleks and take him away. He did neither though rooted in his seat at everything Aleks had confessed in front of their friends.

He honestly wanted to know how Aleks got to that point. He not only confessed his feelings to their coworkers but he also thought James didn’t love him. That James wouldn’t give this all up for him. He’s told that to his boyfriend a thousand times since their drunken night a few months ago. It may be a little quick but James had been sure of his feelings for years. He didn’t want to lose Aleks but here he was, watching it happen.

Fuck. 

“You sound like a fucking sissy, but sorry to hear that.” Brett laughed with the slightest hint of sympathy in his voice. 

Aleks just shrugged. He didn’t show any emotion on his face as he moved back to his desk and started up his computers. Everybody took the hint and moved to start their own editing. James thought about texting Aleks, to try and convince him to leave so they could talk. But James knew that he would just be ignored. Instead he followed suit and started his own work before filming started for the day. 

It took him an hour to think about what to say to Aleks as they waited for everyone to show up. He wondered if his nerves would show up on camera. If Aleks could act like nothing happened then so could he. After spending the past hour avoiding each other’s eyes, James stared at the back of Aleks’s head. 

“You know it was a joke right?” He probably should have tried to beat around the bush more but honestly if he waited to have this conversation it would literally kill James. He had to force himself to focus as he waited for the right opportunity to start it. That happened to be right after filming as they cleaned up their mess. Their camera people were already headed towards their desks to transfer files over.

“What was?” Aleks’ dull voice asked in return. By the way his jaw set and his eye twitched he knew exactly what James was talking about. 

“Aleks, come on. Just talk to me.”

“No, you come on man.” Aleks glared at him before he started to mov the props back onto their growing pile. “I’m sick of talking and you not getting it.”

“This isn’t a one way street, Aleksandr. You know how I feel about you, about all of this. Why can’t we just-” James tried to explain as he moved closer to the other man but was stopped when Aleks interrupted him. 

“Do I, James? Do I know that? Because you sure as hell don’t act like it.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I act like it.” James was truly confused when it came to Aleks’ need to be more public with his life. Mostly because James chose to be private, he liked to have things just for himself. It made them special to him; the blonde had to know that. 

“Really? Because if you did want to be in a relationship with me I don’t think all our conversations would be secrets and whispers behind everyone’s backs.” Aleks snapped. He tried to stomp off in typical Aleks fashion but James stopped him by blocking his path towards the computers. 

“Christ, man. Calm down.” He grabbed Aleks by his slightly shaking shoulders. He was glad to be hidden by the rack of clothes that separated the set from the rest of the warehouse. Aleks just shrugged his hands off and it stung a little as James slowly moved them back down to his sides. 

“It hurts James.” Aleks wasn’t one for showing his emotions, neither of them were. He didn’t look away, didn’t hide his gaze from James. He just stared to let James know how much it took for Aleks to say that. Their staring contest didn’t last long because it was James’s turn to walk away from the conversation. 

~

James wanted to end this once and for all. That probably sounded a little more aggressive than just putting an end their stupid fight. He was way too nervous to just walk up to Aleks and kiss him until he understood.

It was past dark by the time James worked himself up to go to Aleks’s house. Not that it was any help because the other man wasn’t even home. James chose to wait in his car for the first hour before he decided it would start to look creepy to anyone who might see him. 

He had a key to the house. Got it when they first moved to LA, just like Aleks has a copy to James’s. So he let himself in. James was immediately met with Mishka’s happy dog face. He moved slowly to turn on the kitchen lights so he could feed the animals. He almost wished he’d brought Ein with him. While she could have calmed him down it would have been useless after he put the animals in Aleks’s room. That way he could finish he wait for Aleks in silence.

The silence and darkness of the living room allowed James to think. It didn’t last long, thank god. The sounds of keys jingling on the other side of the door broke through James’s mind and the silence surrounding him. James felt nervousness and fear course through his body as he watched Aleks walk into the room. But as Aleks turned to look at him it all went away with a single glance of his brown eyes. Aleks looked stuck between wanting to smile and glare at the man on his couch. 

“What are you doing here James?” Aleks questioned as he moved to stand in front of him on the other side of the coffee table. “And where are my girls?” 

“In your room.” James shrugged at him. They both knew the answer to the first question so he didn’t bother with it. He watched calmly as Aleks started to unload his stuff onto the table. He drank in Aleks like he was a dying man. 

When the fuck did I get so fucking sappy?

Aleks sighed heavily before he flopped down onto the couch next to him. James fell into his lap, head nestled on his thighs. This way he could pin Aleks down and he could also feel the comforting warmth of his boyfriend. Aleks’s hand immediately came down and caught a strand of his hair and James smirked up at him. At least he wasn’t the only sappy one. 

Aleks just scoffed quietly back at him but didn’t stop. There was quiet after that, neither of them wanted to start. They just took a second to bask in each other’s company. Aleks’s fingers dug deeper into his hair as time moved on.

“I know it was a joke.” Aleks was the one to break the silence. “I also know I’m probably taking it too seriously. But James, dude, it really does feel like we aren’t even dating. We never do anything, never go out, nothing.”

“Yeah, I kind of got that feeling from you.” James smirked and put a little humor in his voice. Aleks huffed, it was that adorable noise he made when startled to laugh, and pushed his head slightly. “Bit of a bitch move.” 

“Yeah.” It was silent again and James almost let himself fall asleep on Aleks’s lap. The feeling of his fingers in his hair and Aleks’s steady breathing didn’t help. 

“We’ll have to keep all the fucking coupley things out of the warehouse and no work talk outside of it.” James muttered and his nerves came back full force. He didn’t even offer much but it still left him vulnerable. 

Aleks hummed at first, and sounded like he was on the verge of sleep as well. There was a pause in his movements and James almost let out a whine when he felt the fingers stop. 

“What?”

“I said if we want to start telling people we’re dating then we have to have a few more boundaries while at work.” James said, his voice much stronger then he actually felt. “I don’t like mixing business with pleasure.”

“So what? No more hand jobs in the bathroom?” Aleks asked his voice soft and disbelieving. His body was completely frozen and James wondered if he stopped breathing after his stupid joke. 

“Aleksandr.” 

Aleks lent down, bent so he could basically curl around James’s head. He couldn’t see much of his boyfriend’s face as it loomed above him. The darkness hid it but he could feel the piercing stare behind the shadows. Whatever Aleks had been looking for he found it because before James could ask him about it Aleks’s chapped lips crashed down onto his. 

It was awkward but that was just because the angle of the kiss. The second James felt Aleks start to pull away he reached up to run his hand through Aleks’s hair and pull him back down. Even if it was awkward it had been close to two weeks since he really kissed his boyfriend and James missed him.

James sat up slightly so Aleks could uncurl around him and lay back against the couch. There were a few hits, thumps, and pushes until they were comfortable. Probably because James didn’t let Aleks get very far away. Even a second away felt too long.

When he opened his eyes he could barely see Aleks’s face. Still slightly shadowed but his eyes shined bright. The street lights outside shone through the small gap in the curtains at the best angle to see him. He looked exhausted and on the verge of sleep but the small content smile on his face said everything. He pecked Aleks’s slightly bruised lips again.

“Obviously this can’t get out to the fans.” James muttered against his lips. Their legs tangled together and Aleks’s hands still buried in his hair. He heard a startled laugh from the other man and James raised an eyebrow that Aleks probably couldn’t see at him. 

“Obviously. Dude, it doesn’t even have to leave the warehouse if you’re not ready.” Aleks said back and James tightened his legs to let Aleks know he heard him. 

Aleks let out a sudden yawn and James flinched away from the warm breath against his face. He felt himself yawn back but managed to cut it off the best he could. Aleks closed his eyes and nuzzled into his arm that acted like a pillow and his whole body started to relax.

“We’re going to regret this in the morning?” James said slowly as he let sleep take a hold of him. 

“Nah.” Aleks’s slurred voice replied back. James wondered if Aleks knew he was talking about sleeping on the couch. He didn’t get very far in his thoughts before he fell asleep head tucked into Aleks neck slightly and one arm wrapped around his waist. 

They eventually did regret it a few hours later when Aleks rushed to get up. He pushed James off the couch and ran off towards his room as he yelled something about his pets. James smiled after him, and stretched his back out before he slowly started to follow him up with his sore back.

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous Prompt from my tumblr. Sorry it took so long my editor got busy.   
> Follow talented-headache for more or to give prompts as they are open. Working on my Secret Santa mostly.


End file.
